Quoted By:
“Damn, did Old Man Jenkins finally give up the ghost?” You ask. Your father tells you that he apparently died in his sleep about a few days ago. You glance over at your sister before pumping your fist, causing them to laugh. Your mother chides you, but she knows that your feud with the centenarian growing up was a venomous one. Fucker should have just given you your frisbee back way back when, spare himself the Ding-Dong-Ditch and the headaches whenever he called the police on you for doing things you only actually did about half the time. You joke that he let himself pass on when he heard you had gotten hit by a car, causing your dad to chuckle and your mother smack his arm and chide you again. Kinda weird that they're moving in people so soon, though. But, your mom says she met the five girls that bought the place and they’re pretty nice. Finally getting home and into your house, you hear the jingling of a bell as a white cat with a single black spot above his right eye bounds towards you.
“Button!” You shout as you ease yourself down into sitting on the floor and let the cat into your lap, his purring like a little motor as he rubs against you. You spend the rest of the day relaxing, talking with your sisters, playing with Button and getting used to your limited mobility. After dinner, your sisters turn in early cause they’ve got school in the morning. You end up wanting to go to bed yourself, to have the comfort of your own bed again, but your parents ask you to stay in the dining room for while they tuck your youngest sister in. You sit at the table, adjusting your knee brace while your dad looks at his phone, seemingly trying to avoid looking at you. He’s always been good at keeping a lid on things but he seems sad, somehow. Eventually, your mom comes down and sits at the table with you as well. She grabs one of your hands and looks at you with tears in her eyes. What the fuck is going on?
“Anon, we-we have to tell you something.” You look at the two of them, confusion written on your face.
“Last night, there was-she’s…” Your mom gets too choked up and just hugs you while she weeps. Now you’re terrified, and you look over at your father, who’s wiping his eyes.
“Something happened on the plane last night...a fire in the cockpit. It, uh, it went down in some farmland just outside the city.” Your dad sniffles and takes a deep breath.
“Nobody made it. I’m so sorry, Anon.” You dad moves to join your mother in hugging you while you just stare blankly at the spot he was just standing in.
“Well it’s nice to meet you, Anonymous! I hope I see you in class tomorrow!”
“Of course I mean a date with you, silly! Who else could I want to be with?”
“Oh, Anon. I love it so much! This place will be perfect for us!”
“Hey, when I get back, I’ve got a really important question I need to ask you. Heehee, sorry to keep you in suspense, but it’s worth it, I promise! I love you so much, Anon.”
You don’t remember how you got to bed that night, and the following days are nothing but a blur. Before you even realize it, you're sitting in a car outside the funeral home. Everyone else had gone inside, but you had said you needed a few minutes to collect yourself. You clasp your shaky hands together and try and remember what she used to tell you whenever you got stressed. Steady breathes, head high, relax your shoulders, look at the silver lining, one foot in front of the other. Yeah, one janky cripple foot in front of the other. You exit the car and walk towards the entrance. Hey, your foot drop has gone away, that’s nice. Makes walking a bit easier. Deep breathes. You open the door and come face to face with your girlfriend's brother. Shit, there goes your breath. You inwardly panic as he looks at you. He never liked you, never thought you were good enough for her. He continues to look you over with a hard stare before pulling you into one of the tightest hugs of your life. You two share a good cry in the doorway, and he guides you into the room where the service is being held. It’s a quiet, gentle affair. It’s exactly what she would have wanted. When it comes time for people to speak about her, you find you can’t bring yourself to approach the stand. Nobody seems to judge you. The service ends, everyone filters out and the procession goes to the cemetery. You watch them lower the empty coffin into the ground and it’s only when the first bit of dirt is put on top of the coffin when you feel your heart leap into your throat and you turn away. You look out to the other end of the cemetery and see a flash of pink disappear behind the mausoleum. One of your sisters grabs your hand as tears continue to fall from your eyes. Everything ends, people say their goodbyes, you all go home.
Her brother kills himself that night and you dream of pink eyes so intense they almost seem red.
